Harness.



1 PATENTE)Y APR. 19, 1904.

F. J. SGHBNK.

HARNESS. Ammoniak rILED JAN. 1a, 1190s. A

H0 MODEL.

v yew UNITED STATES Patented April 19, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HARNESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,642, dated April19, 1904.

Application filed Tanuary l2, 1903. Serial No, 138,792. No musei.,

'l'o all wiz/0771, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK JAMES SCHENK, acitizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Monticello, in the county of Piatt and l comingdisengaged from the check-hook shall I i .l l l State or' Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichitappertains tomake and use the same.

This inventionl relatesto checking-up devices forh'arness or means forconnecting the chcckrein with the back-band of the harness; and it hasfor its object to provide a device of the class which shall possesssuperior advantages in point of simplicity, durability, and generaleiiiciency and by the use of which the common objection of the checkreinbebe totally avoided.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of this class inwhich the disengagement of the checkrein from the checking device orhook may be accomplished without any strain upon the checkrein and theconsequent necessity for raising the head of the horse, such strainbeing either caused by swinging or moving the rein violently in ahorizontal direction to accomplish the disengagement of the connectingparts or by a rearward violent pull upon the checkrein, which underother circumstances is necessary to accomplish the same result.

My invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the claim. Y

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view showing aplate or bracket member adapted to be attached to the backband of aharness and equipped with my improved attachment. Fig. 2 is aperspective view of the connecting member carried by said plate, butdetached therefrom. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail view of the otherconnecting member carried 'by a checkrein. Fig. L is a verticalsectional view showing the members of the device connected in operativeposition.

Corresponding parts in the several iigures are indicated by similarnumerals oi rete-rence. The supporting-plate, which is designated 1, isprovided with downwardly-extending brackets 2 2, having perforations 3to receive the rivets, bolts, or other means tor connecting the saidplate wlth and causing 1t to be 'supported upon the back-'band of aharness,

Said back-band, which is no part of the invention, has not been shown.The plate l is provided in the uppermost part thereof with ascrew-threaded perforation,` which is adapted usually to receive thescrew-threaded shank of an ordinary check-hook. In the present instance,however,it receives the screw-threaded shank 4 of an upright or post 5,which is preferably approximately circular in crosssection and roundedat the top, so as to present' edges of the slot 6, having theenlargement 7,

are radial to the center oi' the curves of the front and rear edges ofthe post. This post, as here described, constitutes one of theconnecting members of my improved device.

The other connecting member, which is designated 8, comprises a shank 9,which is square in cross-section and which is provided at its front endwith a'loop 10 and at its rear end with a cross-bar 11, which ispreferably segmental in shape. The length of the shank between the loop1() and the cross-bar 11 is equal to the diameter of the post o rupright 5, and the sides of lthe shank 9 are each of a width preciselyequal to the width of the slot 6 in the post 5, allowance being madeonly to the extent of permitting the said shank to slide freely in saidslot, whilethere will be no possibility of the shank turning in saidslot. The loop 10 is for. the passage of the checkrein, a short portionof which has been shown at l2. It will thus be seen that while the IOOconnecting member 9 is capable of sliding vertically in the slot it hasno longitudinal movement whatever, and except at the extreme upper endof the slot, Where the latter is enlarged to forni the circular opening7, it is not capable of turning upon its axis.

The operation of my invention will be readily understood from theforegoing' description taken in connection with the drawings heretoannexed. In order to place the member 9 in engagement with the post 5,it is necessary to raise it to the upper end of the slot in said postand to insert the cross-bar 11. After the latter has passed through theslot 6 the shank 9 is further raised until it engages the circularportion 7 of the slot, when it may be turned until the cross-bar 11 liesat right angles to the slot. The shank 9 may then be moved downwardlyinto the slot until it lies in the position shown in Fig. l of thedrawings,when it will be absolutely impossible for it to becomeaccidentally displaced, for the reason that in order to be disconnectedit would have to be moved upward to its full extent, then turned andthen lowered until the cross-bar ll might be withdrawn. The performanceof these successive steps is absolutely necessary to the removal ordisengagement of the member 8 of the post 5, and they must be invariablyresorted to when the parts ,are to be disconnected.

The manipulation of my improved device is greatly facilitated owing tovthe curved shape of the post 5, with its front and rear edgesconcentric with each other, inasmuch as the shank will thereby be guidedfreely and conveniently and without liability of becoming cramped at anypoint. This is especially important for the reason that the length ofthe shank 9, as will be clearly seen., especially in Fig. 4 of thedrawings, is exactly equal to the thickness of the post 5, which admitsof absolutely no longitudinal vibratory movement of the shank. In otherwords, the parts are so fitted together that while with propermanipulation the desired connection or. disconnection may be easily andquickly established there is absolutely no danger of the parts becomingdisarranged accidentally.

An important feature of my invention is the absence of complication. vItconsists simply of the two connecting members, land there is a notableabsence of springs, washers, catches, or other complications which,while not adding to the efliciency of a device of this class, arenotoriously liable to become lost, broken, or put out of order.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- In a device of the classdescribed, a post curved upwardly and rearwardly and provided with avertical longitudinal slot terminatingat its upper end in a circularenlarged portion, in combination with a connecting member comprising ashank, square in cross-section, the size of said shank being equal tothe width of the slot in the post, said shank beingprovided with -a loopand a cross-bar adapted to engage opposite sides of the post, the lengthof said shank between the loop and the cross-bar being equal to thethickness of said post, to obviate longitudinal displacement of saidconnecting member.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK JAMES SCHENK.

Vitn esses:

G. W. THoRPE,

R. H. COOPER.

